Magnetic holder for brushes and other articles



Jan. 21, 1947. oo o 2,414,653

MAGNETIC HOLDER FOR BRUSHES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Jan. 10, 1944 f7zdzzt'or' 972e flack/201a?)- Patented Jan. 21, 1947 MAGNETIC HOLDER FOR BRUSHES AND OTHER ARTICLES Alex E. Lookholder, La Grange, Ill.

Application January 10, 1944, Serial No. 517,632

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to magnetic holders for brushes and other articles. The magnetic holders herein shown and described have been designed for holding tooth brushes, but they are adapted also for holding other articles. For the particu-- lar purpose stated, I prefer to encase the magnetic metal portion of the holder in a thin housing of plastic material or other cover which will not interfere with the magnetic holding power of the device, and which will be attractive, easy to clean, and suitable for mounting on a bathroom wall or in a bathroom cabinet. The construction is sanitary, space-saving and more convenient to use for mounting tooth brushes than are the slotted or apertured holders now in use in most bathrooms.

When the magnetic holder is to be employed for holding tools and other articles and is to be mounted on a basement wall or garage wall, for example, the plastic housing or other ornamental casing may be dispensed with.

The magnetic member of the holder may be channel or horseshoe form in cross section or may be a solid bar. The channel form has the advantage of holding brush or other handles vertically without any tendency on the part of the handles to turn from the vertical. The channel or horseshoe form, shown in the preferred embodiments illustrated and described herein, presents two parallel magnetic bearing surfaces for engaging the articles to be supported by the holders. The form of the holders is such that it is easy to place brushes and other articles thereon and convenient to grasp them for removal.

It is old in the art to magnetize parts of portable trouble lamps and the like so that they may be mounted, temporarily, on a magnet-attracting portion of an automobile or other machine. This concept is limited to the idea of magnetizing the thing which is to be supported and of finding a magnet-attracting part of a machine to serve as the support.

My invention is of much broader scopein that it comprehends the provision of a magnetized supporting member which may be fixed or portable, and which is capable of supporting one or many articles, and the articles to be supported may vary widely in character and need not be of any predetermined construction provided they embody some material such as iron capable of being attracted to the holder. For example, tools made of iron, or made of other materials and having iron handles or parts, or iron inserts in handles, can be supported by the holder of my invention and be removed therefrom with the ut- 2 most convenience. In the case of tooth brushes, a small iron insert in the plastic handle, or the provision of an iron handle with chromium plating thereon, would serve the desired purpose.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a holder embodying a channel form of permanent magnet, and a tooth brush supported by the holder.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken in the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of modifications of the magnetic holder shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a bar shaped form of magnetic holder.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken inthe plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a horseshoe shaped permanent magnet I 0 is so arranged that it presents flat end surfaces ll, l2, parallel with each other and extending across the entire width of the holder. A housing l3 encloses or partially encloses the magnet IO and is secured by screws M to a wall IS. The housing l3 may be made of thin plastic sheeting or other material which will not detract from the eificiency of the magnets holding power. As shown in the drawing, the ends of the housing are open, but they may be closed if desired. Also, the front vertical wall of the housing between the magnet surfaces H and I2 may be curved to follow the contour of the magnet Ill between its arms, if desired. These changes are unpatentable variations included within the scope of my invention.

A tooth brush I5 is shown as supported on the holder. In this form the brush handle is shown as made of plastic or other material provided with an iron insert l5 which is attracted by the magnet It,

In Figs. 3 and 4, there are shown modifications of the channel form of permanent magnet illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 3, the parallel magnetized bars I! and i8 are connected by a narrow horseshoe magnet l9. These function in the same manner as the-wide magnet I0 shown in Fig. 1. The parts I1, [8 and i9 are enclosed or partially enclosed by a housing 20. In Fig. 4, the magnetized .bars I1 and 18 are connected to narrow magnets 2|, 22, one at each end of the bars, and these parts are protected by a housing 23.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown a simple bar type permanent magnet 24, secured by screws 25 to a, wall 26, for holding a brush I5 or other article. 1

Due to the opposing polarities of the magnetized bar, there is a tendency on the part 01' the article held thereon to turn from the vertical if placed near the center of the bar. However, this embodiment of the invention is also quite eflicient and well adapted for holding tools and the like, although the channel or horseshoe form has some advantages. In Fig. 5, the tooth brush is shown without an insert l5, being made of magnet-attracting material and coated to render the handle and bristle mounting sanitary and attractive.

Changes may be made in details of construction. in the form of the holder and in the choice of materials, without departing from the scope or my invention.

I claim:

1. A magnetic holder for tooth brushes and other articles adapted to be mounted on a wall, comprising the combination of a permanent magnetic member and a housing of non-magnetic material, said magnetic member comprising a pair of horizontally disposed, vertically spaced apart, parallel pole pieces extending lengthwise of the housing, said housing comprising a wall-engaging portion, an article-engaging portion located adjacent the faces of said pole pieces, and intermedlate housing walls connecting said wall-engaging portion and said article-engaging portion above and below said magnetic member, said intermediate housing walls abutting the upper and lower surfaces of said respective pole pieces and thereby retaining said magnetic members in the housing in a positionwherein the pole faces are adjacent said article-engaging portion.

2. A magnetic holder for tooth brushes and other articles adapted to be mounted on a wall, comprising the combination of a, permanent magnetic member and a housing of non-magnetic material, said magnetic member comprising a pair of horizontally disposed, vertically spaced apart, parallel pole pieces extending lengthwise of the housing, said housing comprising a wall-engaging portion, an article-engaging portion of less width than the wall-engaging portion located ad- Jacent the faces of said pole pieces, and transversely curved intermediate housing walls connecting said wall-engaging portion and said article-engaging portion above and below said magnetic member, said intermediate housing walls abutting the upper and lower surfaces of said respective pole pieces and thereby retaining said magnetic member in the housing in a position wherein the pole pieces are adjacent said articleengaging portion, that part of the wall-engaging portion of the housing which extends upwardly and downwardly, respectively, beyond the longitudinal edges of the article-engaging portion providing means for attachment of the housing to a wall.

ALEX E. LOOKHOLDER. 

